Enerzone Solution 1.8 or Solution 2.3

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cycloxer

Minister of Fire
Jul 9, 2008
715
Worcester County, MA
I went into the local stove shop and they were carrying a brand of Canadian stoves made in Quebec called Enerzone (owned by SBI). They said they have had good results with them over the past year. It is a fairly straight forward plate steel, non-catalytic stove that is reasonably priced.

I am considering the Solution 1.8 or the Solution 2.3. The #'s correspond with the size of the firebox. They both have a 21" firebox width which I really like. I just measured my hearth and I can fit the 1.8 legally with the proper clearances. Bumping up to the 2.3 would require adding a hearth extension as well as adding a mantel shield.

My question is do you think a 1.8 cubic foot firebox is sufficient to heat 1,100 square feet?

I have 14 foot cathedral ceilings and a couple of glass sliders in the main room. I also have an open floor plan which should help distribute the heat. This stove is to be a secondary heat source to supplement my natural gas hot water baseboard heat.

http://enerzone-intl.com/product.aspx?CategoId=1&Id=415

Does anyone have any experience with these stoves or this brand?
 
I just got a link to their stoves today from a friend. And yes it's another line from SBI out of Quebec who also makes Osburn and Drolet. The 1.8 may be a bit small for when you need a peak heat load since you have extra loss from the sliders and additional cubic feet from the cathedral although that could be mitigated somewhat by an overhead fan if you have one. But if it's only going to be a supplement then maybe you could use the 1.8 during the fall, early winter and spring and make it work for you.

I'm going to go take a look at the Solution 3.4 this weekend. It's one of the more monstrous steel stoves out there. I'm interested to see how it compares price-wise with a Quad 5700.
 
At my shop the Enerzones were about $200 cheaper as compared to a comparable sized Quadrafire. They had a 2.9 on the floor and it was a good sized stove so I imagine the 3.4 is a monster. I don't think they are quite as nice as a Quadrafire, but they are not far behind. If you look at the weights, the Enerzone's are heavy stoves with a nice thick guage steel construction. I also liked the large glass door size of the 1.8 and 2.3.

I am going to go measure a 2.3 in person and check my clearances again. The firebox of the 1.8 is 21"W x 14.5"D x 10"H. The 2.3 is a bit larger at 21"W x 17.25"D x 11"H. They both use the same door, though the opening is 1/2" higher on the 2.3. Regardless, it looks like 20" splits will fit fine in either stove.

They had a Quadrafire 3100 Millennium on the floor and while I am impressed by the build quality and design efficiency of the stove, I did not like the 2.0 cubic foot front to back firebox that is only 18" deep. I see myself cracking the glass trying to shove in splits that are a bit too long. I also think the viewing of a side loader is nicer, but that is a personal preferance.
 
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